COUNTY SALES TAX REVENUE UP IN JANUARY

January sales tax receipts for Cape Girardeau County continue a trend of revenue growth seen during 1998.

Receipts for January 1999 totaled $414,293, up about 4 percent from January 1998.

"Almost 4 percent, that's good news for the county," said H. Weldon Macke, Cape Girardeau County auditor.

January sales tax receipts reflect purchases made in November.

The lag is due to deadlines businesses and counties have for submitting sales taxes to the state.

Some businesses pay sales taxes quarterly. Others pay it monthly, and businesses have 30 days after the end of the month to send payment of sales taxes.

As a result, taxes from Christmas sales made in December may not arrive in county coffers until March.

Macke said the trend of increasing sales tax revenue means continued financial stability for the county.

The county ended 1998 with an overall 7.1 percent increase in sales tax from 1997 sales tax collections.

A year ago the county's one-half-cent sales tax took in $398,655, an increase of 13 percent over January 1997.

Sales tax revenues are particularly important in Cape Girardeau County because this money represents a large percentage of the county budget.

Cape Girardeau County has had no property tax since 1982. It depends on sales taxes and fees to fund county operations.

Over the decade, sales taxes have consistently increased, but not always at the same rate.

This fluctuation in sales tax money is based on changes in the local economy, specifically on spending patterns, Macke said.